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Nonresident Deer Hunting application

You can deny it all you want, but population growth and urban developement are the hunters greatest threats. NR hunters are our comrades - lets treat them like they are. I also believe in reasonable limits on NR tags. However, 6,000 tags statewide is not reasonable. I don't have the magic number, but 10,000 is far more reasonable than 6,000. In addition, the NR anysex tags should be good statewide and antlerless tags should be restricted by zone for management purposes. That's just common sense.

I also believe that resident hunters, primarily the party hunters, and poachers are a much greater threat to the quality of our deer herd than the NR who comes to Iowa to hunt mature deer only. I know of several large groups of party hunters in my area that kill everything with a spike and wonder why they very seldom get to harvest a trophy, yet they seldom shoot does, so the 'deer management' argument for party hunting is not a legitimate argument.

One of the groups did quite well this year on mature bucks, however, all of the bucks were illegal deer because they trespassed to get most of them and I was told that two of them were hi-powered. This group got kicked off of one property because they were chasing deer in the fields with their trucks. No wonder it is getting more difficult to get access to land when the party hunters leave their impression on landowners. I would venture to say that this group of 14 people hunt at least 20,000 acres. That is almost 1500 acres each!

It is time to end party hunting before it ends everyones hunting and it is time to welcome ethical, conscientious, hard hunting non-residents without discrimination as to what legal weapon they choose to hunt with.

Randy Willey (DC)
Member IBA, IOGA, & Life Member NAHC
 
Party hunting is a time honored tradition in this state, and most likely a tradition that isn't going anywhere. If the state were to all of a sudden change the rules, I believe that we would have many more unfortunate incidences of law breaking and such. Party hunting and group hunting are almost one in the same, and I guarantee you that every hunter in the state that hunts with the same group of friends every year would still hunt with that same group of friends. We need to focus not so much on the laws, which some of you seem to think aren't followed anyway, and instead focus our attention on education. If we could convince half of our states deer hunters to let the little basket racks go, we would all get shots at 120" and better deer almost every year. It will take years to get this to work, and there will always be those that give hunting a bad image, but through persistance and proper management, we could have THE best deer hunting in the world. We need to start small and let our actions work for themselves. A group that gets big deer every year will soon have other groups following suit and so on. We just need more educated hunters, not a change in the way that they hunt.
 
Ogz is correct in that we need to educate the deer hunters. Believe me I have tried, but most hunters just don't get it and I am beginning to wonder if they ever will.

On my side of the road, me and now my neighbors, who all generally stand hunt, are harvesting big mature bucks every year and our doe population is in check - with the exception of one property (where everyone in the county hunts but no mature bucks have been harvested for at least 6 years). Across the road they party hunt in a group of 30 guys and continue to harvest everything with a spike and very rarely end up with a trophy (the last one was 3 seasons ago). Their doe population is out of control because they would rather shoot a spike than a doe. The same group knows of our harvest results and they tried to slip in this year. I caught them, chastised them, and made them admit they were wrong for doing it. Next year I will call the sheriff and the DNR.

I am not a proponent of drive hunting deer but as Ogz said, we will probably never get rid of it. However, there is a radical difference between a drive and a party hunt - only in a party hunt can one guy kill all of the deer for the entire party. (I personally don't understand how someone can call themself a hunter and put their tag on a deer harvested by someone else.)

Although I do not participate, I do believe small, passive drives are a legitimate way to hunt deer.

Have any of you seen any of the negative press regarding party hunting in the newspapers this year? I read 4 feature articles in the Cedar Rapids Gazette during the deer hunting seasons and all of them were against party hunting - and these were hunters, landowners, and farmers that had previously participated in party hunting. Party hunting is not doing our sport any good at all. I know of several landowners that allowed all types of deer hunting until the party hunters came through. Now they allow no one to hunt - regardless of weapon.

I could list several 'time honored traditions' that have gone by the wayside and that our society now can hardly believe our predecessors ever allowed them.

- Party hunting encourages trespassing - my biggest beef;
- Party hunting produces more wounded and unrecovered game than any other method of hunting because most shots are at animals on the run AND recovery efforts are minimal because the drive must go on;
- Party hunts are unnecessarily dangerous for participants, nearby residents, and motorists passing by;
- Party hunting creates disputes between parties and even within parties regarding who actually made the kill;
- Party hunting contributes to the harvest of immature animals - because you can't accurately judge an animal when it is on a full tilt run;
- Party hunting contributes to over harvest in some areas;

Can anyone tell me some legitimate benefits from party hunting?
 
I agree that "party" hunting in it's true form can be a bad deal. The point that I was trying to make is that the groups of hunters that always hunt together will most likely always hunt together, call it party hunting or whatever.
 
Ha> it,s good to hear there is some inteligent people in Iowa (Down with Party Hunting) Why would any real hunter want to put his tag on someone elses deer.
 
WOW, I didn't relise until I viewed this thread that Iowa allowed part hunting. Thay's a bad deal, but like many ancient
traditions here in PA, it'll be hell to
get rid of. I don't know about the rest of you, but there is no way I'm puttin my tag on any animal that someone else killed, just my own opinion.

bobcat
 
There are alot of NR that would like to see our tags increased. I can understand why. There are alot of R that would also like to see them increased. The bottom line is it means money! You can already see the increase in leased land the past few years. Do you want to keep what you have? Why do you think there are trophy deer in Iowa? Good management and less pressure. Please don't tell me that 4,000 more tags won't put any more pressure on our deer or make it harder for someone to find a place to hunt.
Tell your legistlative rep that you do not want them to increase the number of tags in our state. The ones that do are looking at it as a financial benefit. They really don't care if a NR kills a little deer or big deer. They just want the money. Personally I could care less if I hunt deer in another state. Why would I want to, I hunt in one of the best states in the country. I guess I am maybe just alittle selfish. Oh well!
 
trper,

You stated "You can already see the increase in leased land the past few years."

Since there has been no increase in the number of NR tags and a decrease in the number of outfitters statewide, what do you attribute the increase in leasing to?

My opinion is it is from more resident hunters wanting quality hunting, because contrary to popular belief, there is not a P&Y buck behind every tree.
 
why shouldn't farmers be able to make money charging deer hunters for the use of their land when most of the farmers are on the verge of bankruptcy most of the time anyway, and why shouldn't this group of potential hunters include the out of staters that are willing to pay money and take time to come to Iowa for the chance to shoot one deer. I think that it is very inconsistent for Iowa hunters to resist an increase in nonresident hunters using a bow when Iowa continues the incredibly wasteful and unsportsmanlike practice of party hunting which just results in the indiscriminate slaughter of many quality deer and contributes to the massive problem of trespassing and disrespect for the fine tradition of hunting in general. Think about it.
 
nodriver,
Though I respect you opinion I don't think it is fair to discriminate against those that party hunt just because it is not what you consider to be ethical hunting and the useless slaughter of innocent deer. The shotgun hunters have done quite well here in Iowa without the negative aspects that are attributed to deer hunting. How tough can it be to go sit in the timber or field and shoot a buck at 250 yards with a high powered rifle. I personally don't consider that to very challanging or ethical but I am not critical of those who decide it is for them. Being a avid bowhunter as I am does not give us the right to be self ritchious when it comes to hunting and dictate the rules of fair play to the shotgun hunters in our state. If there is any issue that comes to mind in regards to party hunting it is the safety issue, not how many deer they kill. The problem is that a large majority of the party hunters are individuals who hunt just this one time a year, could care less at times about whether they shoot a buck or doe. They shoot slugs at anything that moves. That is what makes party hunting dangerous. I do not believe they effect the quality of deer that we as bow hunters have the opportunity to shoot before the gun hunters get there fair shake. It is more of a family tradition and a get together of old friends once a year that makes up a party. Take my word for it, party hunting here is Iowa is here to stay no matter what. There are numerous hunters in our state legislative body and believe me if they deer hunt they party hunt. Just feel fortunate if your a bow hunter that you have two months to hunt before they get a chance to. Maybe they don't like to hunt with a bow and are jelous that the bow hunters take to many of the trophy deer and start complaining to their legislatures about that!Hmmm! Just my opinion!
 
Nodriver,
I did not say that farmers should not lease their land, nor did I say we should quit letting out of staters come and hunt in Iowa. I just agree with those who say money is the main reason they will consider more out of state tags.
Also I am not a party hunter, but I have to agree it is a Iowa way of life that is here to stay. I know lots of good people who party hunt and I see nothing wrong with that. I do not agree with groups that have 20 guys who say if its brown its down. Most of those groups leave untagged deer in the timber and to me thats a waste of good meat.
 
to those that defend party hunting, i would say that first of all it is hardly a tradition since deer hunting in iowa only goes back to the early l950s and it is certainly not a national tradition, and in fact it is illegal in most states including those that have long deer traditions such as new england and the south. party hunting was basically just an efficient way to gather meat by a large group of people. Nationally Iowans are considered primitive, unsporting and ignorant because of party hunting. family traditions around deer hunting do not have to involve party hunting any more than pheasant hunting has to involve shooting sitting birds in ditches along the road, another Iowa tradition that still goes on. perhaps party hunting should be limited to antlerless deer only in certain southern iowa counties where there is an overabundance of deer. On the subject of firearms, modern rifled shotguns and in line blackpowdeder rifles have made the distinction between rifles and shotguns somewhat academic and with coyote hunters blasting away with their rifles what is the point of shotguns only anymore.
 
Being a lifelong bowhunter myself, I also suggest caution when bashing the shotgun hunters here in Iowa. Party hunting may not be our cup of tea, But I did not see enough info on nodriver's profile to recognize an authority on sportsmanship.

Most of us that have been around since Iowa deer hunting started realize that the bowhunters and others have it made because the shotgun hunters let it be so. If they organized like the IBA, guess who would be hunting November?

It appears to me for the most part we are all able to do our own thing without picking on others. We are all killing or wounding deer at one time or another, so who is to say what is the right way. We need to rake our own back yards before raking others. There are plenty of people bowhunting and muzzleloading that could use some preaching besides the party hunters.

Please leave the nastiness at the bowsite.

[This message has been edited by BW (edited 02-16-2001).]
 
If what nodriver says is true, then nationally everyone thinks we are primitive, unsporting, and ignorant then they might as well think we are selfish too. If they think that way maybe they should think twice before they apply for a Iowa deer tag.
 
I agree with BOWDUDE also. I am a lifelong bowhunter also and I have ran into alot of hunters and I think that 90% of them are some of the nicest guys and some ladies that I have ever known. I think that us Iowans are more unprimitive(if thats the appropriate word) and most sporting people. But thats just my opinion, Thanks

[This message has been edited by BUCK (edited 02-17-2001).]
 
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